"Battle" is a song by

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

musician Wookie featuring vocals from Lain. It was released on 31 July 2000 as the third single from Wookie's self-titled debut and only studio album (2000). Upon its release, the song reached number 10 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 81 in the Netherlands. British newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' ranked the track at number one on their list of the Best UK Garage Tracks in 2019.

Release and reception

S2S and

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...

released "Battle" in the United Kingdom on 31 July 2000 as a CD and

12-inch vinyl single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

. Six days later, the song debuted at number 10 on the

, becoming Wookie's first and only single to reach the UK top 30. The song also appeared on the Dutch

Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

, where it charted for one week at number 81 in September 2000. Critically, British trade paper ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' called the track "innovative" and "distinctive", noting its crossover potential. In 2019, ''

'' published their list of the Best UK Garage Tracks, giving first place to "Battle" for its "beautiful" production and writing that the song's "soulful" vocals and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

-influenced lyrics about surmounting conflict could be perceived as a response to the

CeCe Rogers CeCe Rogers (born Kenneth Jesse Rogers III, April 30, 1962), is a two time Grammy nominated American singer, songwriter and record producer from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He was given the nickname CeCe by James Brown, who watched him perfo ...

song "

Someday Someday or Some Day may refer to: Film and television * ''Someday'' (1935 film), a British film directed by Michael Powell * ''Someday'' (2011 film), a Japanese film directed by Junji Sakamoto * ''Someday'' (2021 film), an Indian Hindi-langu ...

Capital Xtra Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a Global Media & Entertainment, Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM broadcasting, FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB Digital Ra ...

included the song in their list of "The Best Old-School Garage Anthems of All Time".

Track listings

UK CD single # "Battle" (radio edit) # "Battle" ( Dobie mix part 1) # "Battle" ( M.J. Cole mix) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Battle" (full mix) :B1. "Battle" (M.J. Cole mix) :B2. "Battle" (Dobie mix part 1) UK cassette single # "Battle" (radio edit) # "Battle" (M.J. Cole mix) European CD single # "Battle" (radio edit) # "Battle" (Dobie mix part 1) Australian CD single # "Battle" (radio edit) # "Battle" (Dobie mix part 1) # "Battle" (M.J. Cole mix) # "Battle" (full mix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK CD single liner notes. Studio * Recorded at Soul II Soul Studios (London, England) Personnel * Wookie – writing (as Jason Chue), production * Lain Gray – writing, vocals * Ed Colman – engineering * John Davis –

cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...

Tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

– sleeve artwork * Takay – photography

Charts

References

{{Reflist 2000 songs 2000 singles PIAS Recordings singles UK garage songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles